Anyone doubtful about WP8 progression?

[cp2_4eva]

I absolutely LOVE the posts about how far Apple and Android have innovated in their last iteration vs Microsoft.

Lets take Android... This is the added features for Jelly Bean, from Wiki... (Edited out Tablet only features that have nothing to do with phones)
<blockquote>

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
Version	Release date	Features	Image(s)
4.2	13 November 2012[SUP][85][/SUP]	Photo Sphere panorama photos Keyboard with gesture typing Lockscreen improvements, including widget support and the ability to swipe directly to camera[SUP][86][/SUP] Notification power controls "Daydream" screensaver, showing information when idle or docked Accessibility improvements: triple-tap to magnify the entire screen, pan and zoom with two fingers. Speech output and Gesture Mode navigation for blind users New clock app with built-in world clock, stop watch and timer Increased number of extended notifications and Actionable Notifications for more apps, allowing the response to certain notifications within the notification bar and without launching the app directly SELinux Always-on VPN Premium SMS confirmation[SUP][87][/SUP][SUP][88][/SUP][SUP][89][/SUP]

</blockquote>So their latest and greatest phone innovations are... Well, except a few that admittedly would be "nice to have", they are all built into WP8

Now Apple, their latest and greatest phone has such amazing innovations as... A larger screen, and different shaped headphones (seriously, *this* is what their commercials focus on). Oh, and Apple Maps.

Microsoft, on the other hand, built a WHOLE NEW OS. Yes, it looks similar to WP7, but lets face it. Once you change to a whole new kernel, you're making a new OS. Visually, they kept the same theme with some tweaks. They even made sure it had backwards compatibility - which given a new kernel is no small feat. I'd say they've done a damn good job.

I switched from a BlackBerry Torch 9810, I rarely use my iPad anymore, and the only thing I miss from either these devices is the little blinking light on my BB so I can see if I have a message from across the room.

MS has put a LOT into this OS, and I actually do get stopped by people loving the look and feel of my Lumia 920.

Have you not used the new Google Now? It's actually quite good. In some ways, better than siri and WP8's similar function. MSFT still need a bit of work in the area. More so on the voice recognition side, not the functions. Google now is like a mix between siri, local scout, nokia drive, etc all in one and I've got to be honest, it's good. You can say it's not and that's your opinion, but as a tech enthusiast I have to admit that it's a damned good addition to Android.

Microsoft may have created a whole new kernel, but what average consumer knows about that or even cares? All they see it that WP8 only added a few little things like kids corner, data sense, rooms, and maybe they will even realize that our hardware limitations have been lifted quite a bit. But them normal people don't know about the inner workings. So if you want to sell something, show that it is actually meeting up with the likes of those other two OS. Apps will come, but people steadily use it as a complaint. I'm over that. But the things MS missed on this release have me scratching my head and wondering about this road map of theirs and if WP8 is going to truly blossom by the summer.

 

[chrgeorgeson]

I chose to differentiate "feature" from "option" because I consider features to have a significant effect on the usability of the OS and play heavily into purchase decisions, whereas options... Don't. Either way, call them major features vs. minor, it doesn't matter. I'm not here to argue semantics.

I threw iOS out as an example because iOS and WP are both fairly closed platforms by design. If you don't want a closed platform...



And yes, WP7.X is dead. They can continue to release it in those markets all they want. The fact that a WP8 app isn't compatible with WP7.X is the nail in the coffin. Unless you think everyone will continue to release apps that only use WP7.X capabilities, which would be a disaster for WP8+

Who said I don't want a closed platform? Those features don't make it any less closed and would you actually find none of those features or options unwelcome.
I think being on the WP platform makes it easy to forget that people who want to switch to something new NEED to have an easier time doing so. Adding in the features I listed would help that transition.
I guess you and I will have to agree to disagree, and that is ok.

 

[PG2G]

Who said I don't want a closed platform? Those features don't make it any less closed and would you actually find none of those features or options unwelcome.
I think being on the WP platform makes it easy to forget that people who want to switch to something new NEED to have an easier time doing so. Adding in the features I listed would help that transition.
I guess you and I will have to agree to disagree, and that is ok.

Well, the browser thing is primarily a security issue. I believe it stems from the fact that well performing implementation of Javascript requires certain capabilities that Microsoft and Apple have locked down.

Don't get me wrong, I think the things you are asking for are great. I guess I have just accepted that on these closed platforms we are in for some degree of ecosystem lock in. Eventually when this becomes anti competitive, I expect the governments to blow things open though, hopefully

 

[chrgeorgeson]

Just FYI Apple has allowed 3rd party browsers to run on iOS that are not based on the Safari webkit. Chrome has been there for a long time and I use it on my iPad. No reason MS couldn't allow this on there phones. Of course Google would have to want to create a browser for WP8 but that's up to them.

 

[PG2G]

Just FYI Apple has allowed 3rd party browsers to run on iOS that are not based on the Safari webkit. Chrome has been there for a long time and I use it on my iPad. No reason MS couldn't allow this on there phones. Of course Google would have to want to create a browser for WP8 but that's up to them.

I believe Chrome on iOS is just a wrapper around Safari with some Chrome sync features on top, and it performs significantly worse than Safari as a result.

Hands On With Google’s Chrome For iOS: Just Like Chrome For Android, Only Slower | TechCrunch

At its core, Chrome for iOS is basically a custom interface around Apple’s own rendering engine. What has always made Chrome stand out on any platform is its speed, but that’s definitely not a feature of the iOS version. Don’t get me wrong, there is lots of good stuff in Chrome for iOS – especially if you’re already a Chrome user. It’s just slow (and that doesn’t just apply to page loads – there is often a slight but noticeable lag when you scroll, too).